Maximizing Personalized Learning

Your students have taken their diagnostics, and now there is so much information to take in and process. Some of them are mostly ready to learn target skills, but for others, there are many support skills that they don’t know. We all want our students to get to grade-level proficiency, but how do we best support them? This article will share some best practices for maximizing your students’ progress in Roadmaps.

The Power of Readiness

We know that students make the most progress when they are learning skills that are in their zone of proximal development. When students have a strong foundation to support the new skills they are learning, they are more successful and learn faster. Not only is this idea intuitive, but, at Teach to One: Roadmaps, over the years, we have also seen the data back it up. So, it is important to keep in mind that pushing students to study target skills when they aren’t ready is often ineffective and can be counterproductive.

Grade Level Roadmaps

With this in mind, it might be tempting, with a student who is yet to learn many below-grade level skills, to have them work on a Roadmap for a lower grade. After all, we’re trying to meet them where they are, right? Actually, you don’t need to do this, and in fact, your students will be better served by having them work on their grade-level Roadmap.

This is because our Roadmaps are designed to meet students where they are. The name of a Roadmap describes the destination, not the starting point. Students can come into a Roadmap at any point, and whether they are mostly on grade level or way below, they will get the skills they need to support their journeys toward the target skills. 

In a 6th grade Roadmap, a student may encounter 2nd - 5th grade skills, but only those that are foundational to the concepts taught in 6th grade. If we move a 6th grade student to a 5th grade Roadmap, while they will still be learning 2nd - 5th grade skills, those skills will be in service of a 5th grade understanding, and not all of them will be in support of the 6th grade skills that are that student’s ultimate goal.

The Power of Suggested Skills 

Teach to One: Roadmaps offers a uniquely personalized experience. Our system takes into account each student's current understanding of math and their desired learning outcomes within their grade level, creating a personalized path.

The “Suggested Skills” feature is a powerful tool for personalized learning. It leverages diagnostic data and student Roadmap progress to provide a clear pathway for students to achieve their target goal, which oftentimes is to gain proficiency in all grade-level skills. 

By navigating to their “Suggested Skills,” students will consistently be directed to learn skills they are most ready to learn at this given moment. When students study the new skills that they are most prepared for, they are more successful and that builds their confidence as mathematicians. And, as mentioned above, this approach leads them to achieving faster progress toward their Roadmap target. 

The “Suggested Skills” list allows students to take charge of their learning, by allowing them to choose their preferred next skill among the three provided. Even when teachers haven't provided specific direction, it gives them a reliable way to study the new skills that they are best positioned to learn, while ensuring that those skills are in service of their target goal.

Target Units

However, sometimes, when students need many support skills before they are ready to learn the target skills in their Roadmap, it can take a long time for them to reach their grade level target. This can be frustrating and demoralizing. The student is learning, but because they aren’t seeing those target skills, they don’t feel like they are making progress. So, what can we do to help those students get to their target skills more quickly?

When working within ”'Units,” students will continue to see the “Suggested Skills” list, but this list of skills is tailored to that specific unit. By focusing on a more specific set of target skills, students will need to work through fewer support skills before they are poised to learn their target skills. They will feel more successful, and they will make progress on their grade level targets sooner. When they change units, the system will suggest new support skills, but it won’t be long before they are working on their unit target skills again.

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